Fox sets are many and varied beyond comprehension, but I only use a couple of sets that are traditional favorites, and these are the "dirt hole," the "flat set," the "trail set," and occasionally the "urine post" set. These have served me well over the years and I have no desire to complicate things by adding new sets, unless they prove to be more effective than the old. One thing that I want to make clear about fox traps and sets is the fact they you don't have to operate like a surgeon to catch fox. Craig O'Gorman, the well known pro trapper (and former USDA trapper) from Montana helped me to realize that I did not have to go around with rubber gloves and surgically sterilized traps to nail fox or coyotes, and the first time I caught fox with a trap that I set with bare hands the myths began to recede in the background. Foreign odors are the things that one must try to avoid, but human scent is not foreign to animals in this part of the world. O'Gorman mentioned the fact that he had used human urine on a fox set and this blew my mind! In my youth I would not even relieve myself on the trapline unless it was in a running creek. I actually tried this in Montana and had a cougar get caught in the BMI coyote trap that very night, of course it pulled out, but the idea that human urine would scare every animal in the country away was certainly dismissed. Avoid gas and oil odors on the hands, and don't worry about the smell of dirt, or grass, or human scent at the set. Traps should be cleaned and waxed before season, but a trap that has caught a fox is just as ready to go as a fresh trap from the wax kettle will ever be. I don't wear rubber boots, and I don't use gloves most of the time, and I catch fox and coyote more effectively than I ever did during the years that I used those techniques.The2 gray fox in the picture here were both taken in in common dirt hole set made with bare hands. If I am not mistaken, these two sets took 4 grays in 5 days. You have to look hard to see the second gray about 15 yards back in the open, and slightly to the left of the front gray. This picture was taken the first year I ever tried O'Gorman's approach to predators, and I took 11 fox in 5 nights with approximately 25 set locations. I made all sets with bare hands and this was the first year I ever took doubles.

My approach to the dirt hole is a combination of sorts between the Leggett's step down version, and O'Gorman's big hole ideas. I always like the surface area of the bedded trap to be at least an inch below the surrounding soil, and I like the pan to be the lowest point in the set, due to the apparent fact that predators tend to step in the low spot, rather than the high point. This should not be drastic or overly obvious, but more gentle, and I will try to get some photos to illustrate this in the coming weeks. As far as the hole goes, I used a framing hammer to dig the beds for the sets in the photo above, and I simply made a very small hole with the face of the hammer. I have since grown fond of the larger holes (4 to 6 inches in diameter) that provide a lot of visual attraction. I like a little backing at the rear of the hole if it is on flat ground, but I really prefer a small mound or bank for the big hole since this provides even more visual attraction. I seldom use anything other than lure at these sets, but if I have bobcat meat available I will make use of it.

Apart from the dirt hole, I like the trail set quite well, and the modified trail set (this is what I call it when I use lure or bait with it). The main thing with the trail set is bedding, and lack of disturbance. I try to disturb the area as little as possible, and I will remove any excess dirt from the area after digging a bed, actually I just toss it over the hill. The idea is to blend the trap back into the trail as naturally as possible, and have it bedded rock solid. The biggest problems I have with trail sets are deer stepping in the traps. This can usually be avoided by judicious use of larger branches suspended or leaning a couple of feet over the trap or traps. Basically you just want to force deer to step over the trap location, instead of on it. If you have too small of a limb here, the deer will just brush it out of the way, so I like to us something large enough to force the deer to jump, or step over the bedded traps. If this is a hot trail you can avoid the use of lure or baits, but I will often use lure on the ground 4 or 5 feet beyond the trap location on the trail, and if trees are along the trail I will put the lure up about 18 inches on the side of the tree trunk on both ends of the trail. The idea is to get the fox to work the trail back and forth.

I occasionally use flat sets and urine post sets, and I like flat sets quite well with the right soil conditions, but they usually take me longer to construct than the others do, so I limit the use of these type of sets, since I am always concerned about the time issues.

Notice the second gray about 50 ft. straight behind the first gray in the foreground. This was a second double in 5 days of late January trapping. Both fox were taken in dirt holes using the small hole made with the face of my framing hammer. January and February are both great months for doubles since fox are often running in pairs at this time of year, but one should always remember that you can't catch doubles with just one trap at a location. This particular area is saturated with grays, but red fox are not nearly as abundant. Out of 11 fox in 5 nights, 10 were gray!